A photo cube is the quiet photo gift: six pictures on the six faces of a paper cube that stands on a desk, a shelf or a windowsill. This tool prints the whole thing on one sheet: your photos already sitting in their faces, a cut outline around the net, dashed lines where to fold, and seven little glue tabs. You cut, crease, fold, glue. Ten minutes, one sheet of paper.
What you need
- One sheet of A4 or Letter paper. Office paper works; 160–200 gsm card makes a cube that keeps its edges.
- Scissors for the solid outline.
- Glue: a glue stick or thin craft glue for the seven tabs. Tape, stuck on the inside, also works.
How big is the cube?
| Face size | The cube stands | The printed net is | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 mm | 4 cm tall | 130 × 170 mm | A4 and US Letter |
| 50 mm | 5 cm tall | 160 × 210 mm | A4 and US Letter |
| 60 mm | 6 cm tall | 190 × 250 mm | A4 and US Letter |
Computed from the tool’s layout (October 2026): the net is 3 × face + 10 mm of glue tabs wide and 4 × face + 10 mm tall. A 5 cm cube is the desk-size classic; 4 cm suits a smaller photo set or a Christmas-tree ornament hung on a ribbon; 6 cm is a statement on a shelf. For sharper faces on the bigger sizes, photos of about 600 × 600 pixels per 60 mm face are plenty; the photo print size checker tells you what your own photos can carry.
How to fold it
- Print at 100 percent: in the print dialog choose “actual size”, never “fit to page”, or the tabs will not meet.
- Cut the solid outline, around the whole net in one piece. The six squares stay joined.
- Crease every dashed line: the lines between the squares and the base of every glue tab. Folds made against a ruler edge come out straight.
- Fold the four walls up around the centre square, then fold the lid over the top.
- Glue the seven tabs under the walls they meet. Hold the lid for a count of twenty.
The cube’s six faces take your photos in reading order: top of the cross, then left, centre, right, then the two below. Fewer than six photos is fine: spare faces print with a light hatch, and the first spare face can carry a typed note instead, so the cube can say “Mama’s cube” or “We love you, Oma” on its own side.
What it costs
Nothing. No account, no watermark, no limit on how many cubes you make. The photos never leave your device: the net is built in your browser and handed to your printer as a PDF, and closing the tab erases everything.
If the family likes making things from photos, the same bench builds gift tags with a photo inside, a memory game from your own pictures, or bunting with a name on it, all free, all in the browser. The whole shelf of ideas lives on the photo gifts page, and the walk-through with photo-choice and paper tips is the guide How to make a photo cube with your own photos.
Questions
How do you make a photo cube out of paper?
Build the net here: drop in up to six photos, pick a face size, download the PDF, then print it at 100 percent, cut the solid outline, crease every dashed line, and fold the four walls up around the centre square. The lid folds over last; glue the seven tabs under it and the cube holds its shape.
What paper and glue work best?
Any A4 or Letter sheet prints the net, but ordinary office paper folds softly. For a cube that survives a desk, print on 160–200 gsm card, the kind craft shops sell as cardstock, and glue the tabs with a paper stick or a thin layer of craft glue. Tape works too, on the inside of the walls.
How big is the finished cube?
You pick the face size: 40, 50 or 60 mm, so the cube stands 4, 5 or 6 cm tall. The printed net is 3 × face + 10 mm of tabs wide and 4 × face + 10 mm tall: 130 × 170 mm, 160 × 210 mm or 190 × 250 mm, and every size fits both A4 and US Letter (computed from the tool's layout, October 2026).
Can I use photos straight from my phone?
Yes: drop them from your phone or computer, and they stay on your device the whole time. One exception: iPhone photos saved as HEIC only open in Safari; in Chrome or Firefox, convert the photo to JPG first. Our HEIC to JPG tool does it in the browser.
What if I have fewer than six photos?
The faces without photos print with a light hatch, so blank reads as deliberate. The first spare face can carry a typed note instead, 'Mama's cube' or whatever you want it to say, which prints in the face itself.